Connect the Dots Ginger | Becky Allen

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween Recipe!


It's Halloween! What are you dressing up as for halloween? 

I will have our family picture up tomorrow for you to enjoy our Jurassic World Themed costumes! Hope you guys have a happy and safe day!

How about a perfectly yummy healthy seasonal recipe to celebrate the day!!! 

CLEAN EATING HOLIDAY BUTTERNUT CRANBERRY BAKE




(Makes approximately 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. chopped/cubed, peeled butternut squash
2 large apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1 tbsp. olive oil (or coconut oil in liquid state)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 scant tsp. ground cloves (optional if you like cloves


DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients in a 1 gallon-sized ziplock bag or a large container with a tight-fitting lid.
Shake well to coat everything in spices and maple syrup.
Pour out into baking dish (Mine was 9×13) and bake at 350 F. for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Note that if you have a smaller, deeper baking dish that this will take longer in the oven. The bigger and more shallow the dish is, the quicker this will cook. (I do not recommend a cookie sheet due to the cranberries)
Add salt to taste after cooking if needed.

Modified From The Gracious Pantry


Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

Friday, October 30, 2015

Healthy Halloween Game: 2015

I did this last year with Anna and Elsa costumes that came a knocking and ended up doing 60 squats for the night. I wanted to up the anti this year. Adding more categories of costumes and a variation of exercises to do per costume.


So the rules: Whenever one of these little costumes make an appearance at your door keep a tally and do the exercise associated with it either right then and there or after the little monsters have gone to bed. Think of this as your way to eat a candy bar or 2 for the night. Fun way to help keep you healthy and happy this holiday season!

Also check out my trick to keep the candy in the house at a minimum! Big bucket, lots of stuffing!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Halloween Candy Workouts

Here we go! CANDY-PALOOZA! Saturday is Halloween. How many of you are excited to get dressed up and go trick-or-treating...with your kids I mean! Come on with your kids! I love Halloween. I love dressing up. It is the one day I can be whatever I want to be. And now I get to see Mason's face full of excitement as he goes and knocks on a stranger's door asking/begging for candy from said complete stranger! (How is this legal!)

But still creepy stranger factor allowed, it is still fun! It is still magical for kids, and I want it to be that way for as long as possible. With that being said, how many of us eat our kids Halloween candy??? Cue Jimmy Kimmel!


Well, if you want to avoid the temper tantrums from the kids the next day and not gorge on their sacred candy, check out these charts on what and how many exercises you need to do to negate all those sticky sweets!



So Snickers is my favorite candy and you better believe that in the past I would dig those out of Mason's bag and claim them for myself but not anymore. I WILL NOT BE DOING 50 BURPEES to burn off 1 tiny little fun size bar! 50 BURPEES! What is your favorite candy and how many exercises will you be doing? Comment below. I wanna hear what your favorite Halloween Candy is! 

And, of course, be sure to like our FACEBOOK page and follow us on PINTEREST for motivation, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

November 30 Day Squat Challenge


New month means a whole new monthly challenge! Here we go 30 days to a sexy, lifted, slimmer, rounded butt!

You do not need to do these all in one sitting (squatting) Break it up throughout the day. That's ok. Your goal is just to follow the amount of squats per day! Let me know if you are doing this! Comment below or send me an email. Need daily support and motivation? Follow me on FACEBOOK or join my monthly challenge group! Hope to see you there and GOOD LUCK!


And, of course, be sure to like our 
FACEBOOK page and follow us on PINTEREST for motivation, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Halloween Week- Day 2

Today's look! So loving it! Every day this week I am wearing a different wig. 1) I love Halloween, why not extend the holiday a little! 2) I am surprising my piano students with something fun. I do something every year for them and this is this years. 3) I am making daily motivational videos for my private health and fitness clean eating group and wanted to change it up a little and have some extra fun!

Halloween Candy Alternatives!

Remember when you were a kid and went trick-or-treating and you had that neighbor that gave out a toothbrush or some non candy thing? Well, they might have had something right about. Out of all the candy you got there was just a few things that were non candy. I know it wasn't the coolest thing to get but if you are on the fence about handing out some preservative laden candy to kids that already will have a bucket full of it here are some ideas to help figure out what you can hand out, besides a toothbrush. 
So here are few healthier options, a list of candy alternatives you can hand out Saturday night. And, consider this, since most houses will be handing out candy, your treats will stand out (in a good way) from the bunch!
Crayons
No kid can have enough crayons. And they inspire creativity instead of obesity. You’re not going to get much healthier than this, provided kids don’t eat the crayons, of course, like Collin, last night at the table, EWWW!
Bubbles
Mason loves bubbles and will spend all day playing with them if he could! 
Fruit “Snack” Rolls
They may not be as good as a real piece of fruit, but they’re individually wrapped and they usually contain about 1 gram of fiber for every 12 grams of carbohydrates.
Healthy Snacks
Healthy individually wrapped snacks, like Pirate's Booty or pretzels.
Finger Puzzles
Remember these little bamboo puzzlers? Stick your fingers in each end of the tube—and you can’t get them out! Check out Dollar Stores for these fun gadgets! 
Stickers
Kids LOVE STICKERS! That is a given. Let them sticker their sibling with love, or the house or their favorite books!
Temporary Tattoos
Not all parents will like these but kids always do! They are fun and there are tons of fun variety packs!
Halloween Toys
Most stores carry bags of spider rings, bouncy eyeballs, or snakes. Or consider handing out Halloween-themed pencils and erasers. The fun of these will last long after the Halloween sugar high is gone. 
Glow in the Dark Sticks
Mason loves these at night after the sun goes down and you can get a box with a ton of them in it for fairly cheap! 
What do you like to hand out for Halloween?

Monday, October 26, 2015

FREE 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge!

What is all this talk about clean eating? What does it mean? It has to be hard! NOPE! it is so easy to add clean eating into your daily life. Spend the next 5 days with me to learn how you can add it into your life and even try it out. Learn how simple it is to cut the boxed foods and crap from your lifestyle. Let's shed some weight BEFORE the holidays hit!
Join my FREE 5 day clean eating group which is HALLOWEEN THEMED for the entire week! Tons of fun, games and recipes along with prizes up for grabs! Click JOIN! See you in there!


And, of course, be sure to like our FACEBOOK page and follow us on PINTEREST for motivation, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.

Dairy...A Love/Hate Relationship


For the past few months I have severely reduced how much diary I am consuming. I just thought, "I will try this Almond milk to see how it is." And I haven't gone back since. It has actually been a pretty cool transition. And really the only dairy I eat regularly is butter and cheese. But it is such a small amount that it isn't enough to really affect me.

A couple weekends ago though, I ate dairy, I had cheesecake. and baked goods, and other snacks in the house I bought to help keep my kids at bay while I was in survival mode since the hubs was out of town for 4 days. And guess what??? It totally backfired on me and I am still suffering from that indulgence today! By Sunday, I was so bloated I looked like I was 6 months pregnant and my stomach was cramping like crazy. Sunday I realized that I did not eat the best decisions over the weekend and cleaned up my eating and it took till Tuesday to help clean out my body, no more bloat and the bloated weight I gained is GONE! 
What have I been doing? I have been drinking 64 oz of water with 1-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. And every morning I have been having warm lemon water (1 cup of water with half a lemon juiced into it). Along with cutting out sugars (except found in fruits) and also not eating breads/cutting out gluten. (I am going to be getting gluten free bread this week at the store). Plus increasing my veggies to make sure I am getting enough of them because we all could use more veggies! 
I don't think I am lactose intolerant. I could be but I have never been tested for it and don't have it official. I honestly think though that my body just isn't used to processing that kind of protein any more. And it was heavy dairy that killed me more than anything. My body has changed over the past few months and it is pretty awesome! And for me to just over load it with foods that I haven't had in so long my body was like, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO ME!" The coolest thing is how I have been able to clean out my body and how much better I am feeling. I don't feel sluggish any more. I am not as tired as I was. My body isn't bloated anymore. I feel better. And Shakeology is ROCKING at helping me feel satisfied.
Here is the thing. Dairy is amazing and yummy and in so much of what we eat. It is also an inflammatory. A huge way to help your body is to just cut out some of the dairy that you are eating. I went from drinking 2 large glasses of milk to just 1 glass, to 1 small glass of milk, to now no more milk (can't stand it anymore) and just a little bit of butter on my toast and just a pinch of cheese on my eggs in the morning. Small changes lead to huge results. Just give yourself a challenge to reduce or cut for a short time. See how it makes you feel and then you will know!


Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here to join my private online community where you get free advice, support and encouragement + a free gift with tips to help you get started with the right mindset for healthier nutrition choices!

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Motivation To Habit!

If you want to succeed with making the shift to a PERMANENT healthy lifestyle, you have to STOP THE EXCUSES every day and JUST DO IT! I know, Nike logo, but it's the truth. Whenever you don't feel like working out, just do it. Whenever you don't feel like eating healthy, just do it!


People make excuses as a way to make themselves feel better for not completing something. For example, "I don't have time" is a common one, but you do have the time, you just have to create it. Before you make an excuse, take some time to think about it and instead of saying to yourself “I can’t” or “I don’t have the time” say “I’m choosing not to”. That will make you realize that you have the control and power to either do it, or not do it. It’s your CHOICE. Eliminate excuses, find success!

Sit down with your calendar and look at your whole day. Can you find 30 minutes in that day? You might have to sacrifice something, sleeping in, watching your favorite TV show live, or even some alone time just chillin'. But don't you think your health and wellbeing are worth it? Do you think it is important to your family, your children, for you to be healthy and around as long as possible? I want to be here for my grandkids. I want to be able to play on the ground, take them to the park and run after them. I want to be healthy now so that I can be healthy when I am older! Stop making excuses and just do it! You can do this! 
So with your calendar I want you to schedule in a time everyday that you can exercise and take care of you. Make it with an alarm. Make it important. Just like you would a doc appointment. Commit to yourself that you are going to do it. When it is time for your work out, like early in the morning. And your alarm goes off 30 minutes earlier than it has in the past, put your alarm across the room. and as you make your way to the alarm in the morning repeat to yourself, "AWAKE! I'M AWAKE" The whole way there. You will be awake and alert! Then get dressed, best to set your clothing out the night before, and get downstairs and do your workout! 

It really is that simple! Comment below with what time you scheduled your workout for!

And, of course, be sure to like our FACEBOOK page and follow us on PINTEREST for motivation, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Homemade Fajita Seasoning

Wanna make you life so much easier? Being a busy mom of 2 kids I want things that are easy and still taste great! Check out this homemade fajita seasoning that can be used on ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! Chicken, Steak, Rice, Veggies, Quinoa, tofu, Anything! Super easy and super tasty.

Fajita Seasoning: 
Ingredients:
¼ cup Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Sea Salt
2 tablespoons Paprika
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder (optional)
1 tablespoon Cumin Powder

Combine in a cute little spice container and use when you need it!


My favorite recipe to use this on: 

Chicken Fajita Tacos:
Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon Coconut oil
2 Bell Pepper- sliced
2 onions- sliced
(Or any veggies you want to add to it!)
4 Corn tortillas- warmed
Avocado
1/4 pepper jack cheese- shredded
Fajita Seasoning- see below.

Directions:
Dry rub the chicken in the fajita seasoning and let marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Grill up the chicken on the grill or in a skillet until juices run clear
Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a salute pan. Add the bells and onions and salute until the onions are translucent.
Fill a tortilla with chicken, veggies and top with diced avocado and pepper jack cheese. Serve with a side of black beans and rice!


And, of course, be sure to like our 
FACEBOOK page and follow us on PINTEREST for motivation, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...